The accolades continue to pour in. Rwanda has performed tremendously in nearly every study published since last year; if it’s not about ease of doing business, it will be in the anti-corruption crusade or will be described as a touristic paradise free of crime.

The latest report – published by Foreign Policy – is in the same vein. The Baseline Profitability Index (BPI) ranks the country fifth in the world. The study combined many factors: The World Bank’s Governance Indicators, Ease of Doing Business Report, Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, Standard and Poor’s Sovereign Debt Ratings, to name but a few.

This is a vote of confidence in the country’s sound economic policies that have turned it into an investment destination of choice. Its sterling performance is the talk of many international fora, which attribute it – correctly so – to its visionary leadership.

Many new fields are opening up and attracting foreign investors. Our young securities market is pulling in major regional players, especially from Kenya, because of its buoyant nature and ease of repatriating capital.

What now needs to be done is to join the big boys’ league, but that can only be possible if our manufacturing sector can emulate the overall economic performance. That is the main obstacle as production costs remain high and the skills gap is still wide.

But judging from history, these obstacles will be overcome with the usual fervour because the will to transform this country is there.